The Elizabethton City School Board made moves to continue upgrades to the high school’s commons area during Thursday’s special called meeting.

The board unanimously approved a bid with Palmer Hamilton to purchase 26 tables, eight custom logo laminates, three waste receptacles, three recyclings bins, and two condiment cabinets for $39,702. The tables will be custom designed and feature Elizabethton High School logos, said Director of Elizabethton City Schools Dr. Corey Gardenhour.

The purchase of the tables is part of renovations being made to the Elizabethton High School commons area which acts as the school’s cafeteria while also being used for special occasions such as college signings. Recently, the commons area had new black ceilings and LED lights installed for less than $30,000 allowing the school to put more money into furniture such as the tables. Gardenhour also said new flooring will be installed in the area over fall break. In the future, there are also plans to install a sound system in the area so it can be used as an auditorium for special presentations.

“It is really changing a lot,” said Gardenhour. “We are trying to make that space something that is more usable. That is the first impression you get when you come into the school, and we want it to stand out.”

Also during Thursday’s meeting, the board voted to enter an Interlocal Cooperation Agreement between the Clinch-Powell Educational Cooperative and Elizabethton City Schools. According to Gardenhour, the agreement made it possible to purchase the new tables and other furniture for the commons area at a cheaper price.

“The original quote we had was around $100,000,” said Gardenhour about the original price for the furniture. “But going through the cooperative purchasing agency saved us a lot of money.”

Also during Thursday’s meeting, the board approved a bid to purchase new 5-camera systems for 15 of the city’s school buses. The bid of $44,607.29 was awarded to Pro-Vision Video Systems.

“This will really help us with the safety of the students on buses,” said Gardenhour during the meeting. “This has been on our wishlist for a while. This will help us in supervising children and let us know what is going on around the bus which is super important.”

The city buses currently have camera systems, but some of the cameras have issues which the school board hopes are remedied through the purchase of the new 5-camera systems.

Other approved bids and purchases:

—$13,354.40 to Dell for the purchase of desktop computers.

—$94,989.84 through a capital outlay note to Baker’s Construction Services, Inc. for the construction of a new soccer practice field.

—$14,333.28 for the purchase of 312 chairs.

The next board meeting will be on Tuesday, Oct. 23.